As a non interested observer, it seems to me the whole matter was blown well out of proportion at this stage of the story. I've read and reread the letter Jason Vance sent to Loudon High School principal, Cheri Parrish, athletic director, Ronald Roberts and coach Josh Graves. What I took from the letter was a dad frustrated by what he felt was an injustice to his child and other children. I didn't read anything that remotely suggested Vance threatened the coach, intimated the coach or told the coach that his son better get to play in a ball game or else. It was a letter, not unlike many of us would have written had we felt the way Vance felt.

Seems to me that a lot of people believe Mr. Vance should have to give up his right to be a parent when he became the director of schools. That would be a high price to pay. Jason Vance might be the director of schools but long before that he was a dad. I try to imagine how some of you Facebook vocalist would have reacted if you felt your child had been shorted as Jason Vance felt his child had been shorted. I dare say you would have been far more vocal than Mr. Vance was.

Then to add insult to injury, Vance's private, internal letter to trusted administrators was leaked to the public in violation of federal law and local policy. Again I ask, how would any other parent have reacted if their private communication, about their child, to administrators had been leaked to the public? The Facebook firing squad would have been assembled and demands for someone to be fired would be ringing from the heavens.

As to the two hundred angry citizens that attended the board meeting, I wonder how many of them were actually aware of the facts of the matter and not just the rumors that had been circulating. Loudon County has almost 5,000 students. That would mean there should be about 10,000 parents. This means 2% of the school system's parents may have been in attendance. If the Loudon County School Board is now going to be setting policy based on 2% of their parent population, the board is setting a dangerous precedent. And let's be honest, some at the meeting were in support of Mr. Vance and some were there just to watch. The anti number was far less than reported.

The action of the school board to call for the suspension of Vance harkens back to a few months ago when we saw a federal judge accused of a lot of stuff. The phrase that came to be known was, guilty by accusation. Seems Vance was found to be guilty by accusation by at least some of the board members. Their mindset seemed to be, there's no evidence Mr. Vance did anything wrong but he has been accused of something so let's suspend him. No due process needed. Accusations are not evidence.

I wholeheartedly support the boards decision to do a full investigation of this matter and if it's found that Mr. Vance did in fact use his high position to threaten the coaches job for his personal gain, then Mr. Vance should be dealt with in whatever manner the board feels appropriate. If it is found that Vance did not do anything wrong, but only advocated for his child as any parent would, then the board, led by Scott Newman, should publically and boldly apologize to Mr. Vance and his family.

I also wholeheartedly support the boards investigation into who of the three recipients leaked Vance's letter, to the public. This is a violation a first year educator would know better than to do. It was obviously leaked to cause dissention in the school system and embarrassment for Jason Vance. When it is discovered who leaked the letter to the public, the person who leaked it should be terminated immediately. Not just because they violated federal law but also for the chaos and disruption they caused for the Loudon County School system. There can be no excuses.

In the end, Mr. Vance, Coach Graves, the administrators involved in this matter are grown adults and can deal with the fallout as such. The real victims in this issue are the Vance children who have had to take the brunt of the fallout from their fellow students. You have to wonder about the mindset of parents who would incite their own children to attack other children for issues among adults.

It's a sad statement on a lot of parents.